Cultural diversity
Ancestry
About this topic
Ancestry describes a person's cultural association and ethnic background, and Census respondents can report more than one ancestry. It is a broader cultural measure than country of birth because it can reflect family heritage across generations.
This topic helps show the size and diversity of cultural groups in an area, including groups whose members were born in Australia. Because multiple ancestries can be reported, ancestry totals can exceed the total population, so it is best read with birthplace, language used at home, and religion.
Interpretation notes
- People can report up to two ancestries, so category totals represent responses rather than a single unduplicated person count.
- ABS advises that ancestry is best used with birthplace and language, because ancestry alone is a broad measure of ethnicity and cultural background.
- The 2021 form added separate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mark boxes, so those categories need caution in over-time comparison.
Key insight
In 2021, the largest ancestry groups among residents in Nairne were English, Australian and German.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Nairne - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Nairne in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Mount Barker (DC) and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Nairne, with comparison markers for Mount Barker (DC).
English
2021 count
2,444
% of total
45.9%
Change from 2016
+1.4pp
2,444
45.9%
+1.4pp
Australian
2021 count
2,377
% of total
44.6%
Change from 2016
-0.2pp
2,377
44.6%
-0.2pp
German
2021 count
581
% of total
10.9%
Change from 2016
+0.3pp
581
10.9%
+0.3pp
Scottish
2021 count
504
% of total
9.5%
Change from 2016
-0.7pp
504
9.5%
-0.7pp
Irish
2021 count
480
% of total
9.0%
Change from 2016
-0.2pp
480
9.0%
-0.2pp
Dutch
2021 count
195
% of total
3.7%
Change from 2016
+0.7pp
195
3.7%
+0.7pp
Italian
2021 count
129
% of total
2.4%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
129
2.4%
+0.2pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
51
% of total
1.0%
Change from 2016
+0.9pp
51
1.0%
+0.9pp
Welsh
2021 count
47
% of total
0.9%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
47
0.9%
0.0pp
French
2021 count
38
% of total
0.7%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
38
0.7%
-0.1pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
English
+200
+1.4pp
Australian
+120
-0.2pp
German
+46
+0.3pp
Scottish
-11
-0.7pp
Irish
+16
-0.2pp
Dutch
+45
+0.7pp
Italian
+20
+0.2pp
Australian Aboriginal
+44
+0.9pp
Welsh
+4
0.0pp
French
-2
-0.1pp
Data table
Ancestry for Nairne. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Mount Barker (DC).
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Mount Barker (DC)% | Count | % | Mount Barker (DC)% | Count | pp | |
| English | 2,444 | 45.9% | 47.0% | 2,244 | 44.5% | 46.0% | +200 | +1.4pp |
| Australian | 2,377 | 44.6% | 40.3% | 2,257 | 44.8% | 41.3% | +120 | -0.2pp |
| German | 581 | 10.9% | 11.8% | 535 | 10.6% | 11.9% | +46 | +0.3pp |
| Scottish | 504 | 9.5% | 10.4% | 515 | 10.2% | 9.8% | -11 | -0.7pp |
| Irish | 480 | 9.0% | 9.0% | 464 | 9.2% | 8.4% | +16 | -0.2pp |
| Dutch | 195 | 3.7% | 2.7% | 150 | 3.0% | 2.6% | +45 | +0.7pp |
| Italian | 129 | 2.4% | 3.0% | 109 | 2.2% | 2.6% | +20 | +0.2pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 51 | 1.0% | 1.2% | 7 | 0.1% | 0.2% | +44 | +0.9pp |
| Welsh | 47 | 0.9% | 0.9% | 43 | 0.9% | 0.8% | +4 | 0.0pp |
| French | 38 | 0.7% | 0.6% | 40 | 0.8% | 0.7% | -2 | -0.1pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).